Verizon, unions still talking about contract

Contract talks between Verizon Communications Inc. and its two unions continued today without incident.

Although the unions, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, are prepared to strike if needed, they are still working under the old five-year contract that was set to expire Sunday at 12:01 a.m.

Since negotiations were progressing, both sides agreed to “stop-the-clock” on the deadline and continue under the terms of the old contract.

Although Verizon workers picketed in some New York and New Jersey locations today, talks continued. No pickets were planned for Albany; one was staged on State Street in the city last week.

“Still plugging away,” Bob Master, a spokesman for CWA District 1, said this afternoon. District 1 includes New York state.

“Both sides are cooperating and working hard to get a new contract,” said Verizon spokesman John Bonomo. “We’re sure the unions know that we’re in a competitive environment and know that for them to succeed, we as a company must succeed.”

CWA represents about 50,000 of Verizon’s 65,000 union workers and about 1,500 up and down the Hudson Valley, including the Capital Region.

CWA has said its biggest issues for the new contract are keeping health care costs down for members and making sure Verizon doesn’t outsource jobs previously done by union employees.